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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Auctions are hard work for auctioneers   List John Norris Next   Auctioneers welcome new generation of bidders   By John Norris Auction Kings, Auction Hunters and Storage Wars are three current American reality TV programs that share the venue of a public auction.   Paul Brown, owner of Gallery 63 in Atlanta, Georgia, appears in and narrates Auction Kings, a Discovery Channel series that covers the entire auction process, from pickups to live auction sales.   In Spike TV's Auction Hunters and A&E's Storage Wars, a coterie of dealers who bid against each other for the contents of abandoned storage units, express their bidding strategies etc. to the cameras.   Regardless, at the helm of each program is an auctioneer outlining the process of his auction, conditions of sale and soliciting bids as quickly and as efficiently as possible to move through the lots and obtain the highest hammer price for the consignors and auction house.   Auctioneering is serious business - and very hard work. Few people are privy to, nor appreciate, the pre-sale physical labor and time-consuming cataloguing and promotion.   "An auctioneer is responsible for the items taken into his possession to be sold and to properly promote and advertise them to obtain fair market value, "says Rob Rusland of Rusland's in Peterborough, Ontario.   Rusland has been auctioneering since 1972 with his father-mentor Bill, who encouraged him to "treat the clients as you would like to be treated."   Rusland advises his peers: "Remember, you are working for the seller, so you must keep his best interest in mind at all times."   Andrea Zeifman, formerly of Ritchies and now a partner with Andrew Wilkens of Toronto, has been auctioneering for six years. Though she had no aspirations to become an auctioneer, she was "thrown on the stand" on a dare.   Luckily, "it seemed to be the right fit."   It is her responsibility to make sure people attending the auction are kept engaged and content. Every bid must be addressed fairly and accurately.   "The auctioneer sets the tone for the auction," she says.   As for buyers, "aggressive bidders do the best. If you show you are confident and assertive with your bidding style, then others will often back away."   Zeifman says she especially needs to excel in the business.   "Being a woman has given me a different perspective. Bidders sometimes think they can push me around on the stand or take advantage of me. I always do my best to keep my cool and let their comments slide off me."   Though Zeifman's formal education is in fine and decorative art history, she believes she was destined to work in the field.   "From a young age, I remember being pushed in my stroller around the outdoor antiques fairs and Harbourfront Market. I always came home with a new Red Rose tea figurine or Beswick animal to add to my collection."   As an adult, she learned a lot from former Ritchie auctioneers, especially from (now retired) Aly Boltman.   "She was young and ambitious like me."   Another mentor was then president Stephen Ranger. She said he's a born stand-up comedian, clipping through lots, poking at bids - here - there - with a pen in his left hand and the index finger of his right, and punctuating pauses with encouraging quips like, "It's only money."   Ranger's American counterpart is Hugh Hildesley, flown in twice yearly from Sotheby's in New York to run the firm's Canadian fine art sales.   A tall, portly gentleman in a three-piece navy suit, Hildesley, witty and sometimes impatient, solicits bids like cowboy film legend John Wayne as Marshal Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn in True Grit, dauntlessly attacking the bad guys on horseback, reins clamped between his teeth, both pistol barrels blasting.   Often Hildesley narrates the action for his standing-room-only crowd:   "He shakes his head in a disappointing way," he says, describing one man up front, who had lost an A.Y. Jackson to a phone bidder.   It's all about breaking the monotony of the very mechanical, often boring process of assembly line bidding for lot after lot after lot.   Perry Tung, also formerly of Ritchies and currently at Bonhams Canada in Toronto, has an acting background. It was a natural choice to combine his love of antiques with performing.   "I think I have a very smooth, clear style," he claims.   Rob Rusland's style is similar.   "I am very easy to understand. I have an efficient pace of auctioneering and sell between 100 to 120 lots per hour, and I like to be on the floor to interact with bidders."   Zeifman is of a like mind.   "I believe it is important to develop a rapport with my audience," she says. "I typically know who will be interested in each lot, so I make it my duty to find that buyer and help him succeed.   "Eye contact is crucial and helps keep my bidders engaged. I also make it a point to memorize the paddle numbers."   (Bidders have also told her she is "considerate," can "draw the money out of buyers" and can be "witty" too.)   To snag desired lots at the cheapest price possible, Rusland recommends bidders arrive before the auction starts and inspect the item, set a maximum price in your head, and add 10%, if you really want the item.   He says make sure you know when the item is coming up so you don't miss it. Use your bidder card so the auctioneer doesn't miss your bid. Feel free to ask staff questions prior to the auction about any item.   "Talk to dealers or collectors in attendance as they are usually quite knowledgeable. Attend as many auctions as you can to get a feel for what items are selling for." In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Live Auctions (2008), the National Auctioneers Association offers advice to bidders:   Learn to read other people by their habits, appearance and strategies, like in a poker game; watch your competitor's bidding patterns on other auction items and be prepared to adjust your bidding strategy.   Sometimes "auction fever" erupts into a bidding war, says Tung.   "I was selling a lamp with a presale estimate of $5,000 to $7,000," says Tung. "We had nine phone bidders and bidders in the room. After about a half hour, it sold for $85,000. It was amazing to feel the buzz. We knew the lamp was special, but didn't expect it to fetch that much."   But beware, sometimes a bid is, in fact, not a bid.   "There was a person in attendance at one of my auctions, who, we assumed, was bidding as he kept nodding and driving the price up," says Rusland. "Then we realized he wasn't bidding at all, but had a nervous twitch." Bidders must do homework before the auction, says the association, to determine how much to bid on an item by researching its current market value.   Research eBay and the Internet. Consult an appraiser, other collectors and dealers as to the item's value. It helps to specialize, decide which type of art/antique you want to collect. Pick something you will often view and enjoy, something you really like. Avoid picking items only for investment.   Meanwhile, Zeifman and Rusland look optimistically towards the future of auctions.   "The live auction will eventually be a combination of live and online bidding for most sales," predicts Rusland. "Because of the Internet, this allows more bidders to become involved without leaving their home."   Zeifman thinks green.   "It's imperative we begin making the auction world more accessible to the younger generations. Attending an auction can be fun and exciting and, at the end, you will walk away with some amazing things."   Photographs:   1 - Rob Rusland of Rusland's in Peterborough   2 - Andrea Zeifman of   3 - Aerial view of a Rusland's country auction     Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2011 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster